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Pivot stickfigure animator
Pivot Stickfigure Animator (usually shortened to Pivot) is a simple Windows freeware application that allows users to create simple stick-figure animations, and save them in the animated GIF format used on web pages and animations, which can also be converted into videos using other software, such as the Windows Movie Maker that comes with Windows. Pivot provides a very simple interface with few features, making it possible for even young children to create sophisticated animations. Many animations created with Pivot have been uploaded to YouTube. There are also websites that allow the sharing of files created with Pivot.[http://www.animatorhost.com Animator Host] Pivot received 5 star ratings from BlueSofts.com, MaxxDownload.com, and Fast-Download.com, and received other awards from sites such as Softpedia.com, SnapFiles.com, and Safe-Install.com. The author, Peter Bone, stopped working on Pivot after releasing Pivot 3.1 Beta in 2005. Despite being frozen since that time, Pivot has become an extremely popular freeware application, particularly in school communities. The program was later modified externally by Surfoleon and is now 'up and running' again. Usage A Pivot user clicks and drags a stick figure's limbs, around pivots (joints) that marked as red circles. Because of this "joint" system, some effects can be difficult to create in Pivot, despite being easy in other animation programs. On the other hand, the joint system ensures size-consistency. The animator can also choose a frame rate, which can range between 8 FPS at the lowest, to 33 FPS at the highest. The animator can also choose the dimensions for the animation. Recent versions have allowed users to create, save, and open their own stick figures and pivot files, saved in the software's unique STK format (Pivot) or in X2P format (PivotX). Animators can choose to save their animation in two formats. The animated GIF format can be used on web pages and presentations, and can also be imported into video editing programs like Windows Movie Maker to do other advanced tasks like adding sound or text, and saving in a regular video format. The user can also save their project in the PIV format, a format unique to the software, which has a very small file size and includes in it all STK files and sprite images used in the project, but is not intended to be a stand-alone animated image or video file; it is used mostly for saving projects when the user is unable to complete the animation at the time and wishes to finish it later. The final version released, Pivot 3.1 Beta, includes an option to export to AVI format, but trying to save to that format simply prompts an error message stating "This feature is not yet completed". Users of Pivot 3.1 Beta therefore generally save as animated GIF and postprocess the GIF file in Windows Movie Maker, as described above. Saving in WMV format allows uploading to YouTube, a popular final destination of Pivot animations. Several websites such as Droidz.org http://www.droidz.org have many different images, sounds and .STK files for download to help enhance users' animations. These websites also give animators the opportunity to create a user account on the site and help by submitting their own creations and images to the site. Versions and Downloads ;Pivot 1.0 First Pivot release. This version of Pivot Animator had several bugs, as with most first generation programs. Stick figures were limited to the default stickman. Animations could be saved in the .PIV or .GIF format; users were given few options of image optimization or resizing when saving their animation. ;Pivot 2.1[http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,23344-order,1-page,1-c,alldownloads/description.html Pivot 2.1 download at PC World] ;Pivot 2.2[http://www.snapfiles.com/get/stickfigure.html Pivot 2.x download at SnapFiles.com] Second major release of the Pivot Stickfigure Animator. This version introduced the stick figure builder for user designed figures, fixed a few minor bugs, added the "back" and "front" buttons to bring a stick figure in front or behind other figures, and could automatically check to make sure the user does not lose unsaved projects. This is one of the most commonly used versions of Pivot. ;Pivot 2.2.4 In this version, an installation file was created, ensuring that the program would be installed properly and that the appropriate file associations for animation and stick figure files would be set. Other additions include unique icons for Piv and Stk files, the ability to load JPEG backgrounds, and warnings when a user tries to overwrite an existing file. ;Pivot 2.2.5 The "insert frame bug" was fixed with version 2.25, and the installer is now saved as .exe instead of .msi. This version is considered the last "official" release of Pivot. ;Pivot 3.1 Beta[http://assassinationscience.com/jackcostella/pivot Pivot 3.1 Beta download at Jack Costella's Pivot Page] This release was sent intentionally to MSN groups for testing, but when Peter Bone, the developer, announced he would no longer continue to develop Pivot, the Beta was leaked from various unofficial sources to the general public. Several features had been vastly improved and several new features had been added. There was an improved interface, with new icons, a better default stickman and a reorganization of the features. New features included the ability to import any .GIF or .BMP image as a sprite to be moved around in the animation like a stickfigure. Another added feature was the ability to have multiple backgrounds in an animation. When a user saved a .piv file, the frame rate was saved with it. Because the developer stopped work on the project before releasing a Final version of the 3.1 Beta, there never was a Pivot 3.1 Final Release. ;PivotX 4.1 http://pivotx.co.nr This release was created by Surfoleon. This version is available as from 18th July 2009. This version of pivot uses Pivot 3.1 Beta as a base, and has made cosmetic changes to the program using a Delphi editor and added support for an alternate .x2p stick figure file format. It is covered by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: Unported License, unlike it's precursor, but declares on its site that it is 'Wikipedia Compatible' and is (rather vaguely) covered by a Gnu Free Documentation License or GFDL. In the latest release, there are reports that the developer of PivotX, Surfoleon, has not managed to enable the .AVI export yet. Running Pivot on Linux Although Pivot was compiled only for the Windows environment, many have found success running Pivot in Linux and Mac using WINE. Because Pivot doesn't utilize many other DLLs or other external libraries, many have found it fairly easy to run Pivot in very stripped down or older Windows environments (such as Windows 95). Popularity The software is most commonly known through animations produced with it on YouTube, starting the popular Pivot trend because of the ease of use in making such animations. Pivot 3.1 Beta opened up many new possibilities for animators, including effects to help enhance their animations and make them much more enjoyable. Long-time users of the software have been able to find tricks in the software to create many different effects the software was originally not made for, such as shadows, fading, camera scrolling and panning, and trails. Examples Here are some examples of animated GIFs created using Pivot, ranging in complexity from Beginner to Elites. Note that these are examples of animations that are made by beginners. References External links *[http://www.droidz.org/ Droidz] Pivot resources *[http://pivotx.co.nr/ Pivotx] PivotX new Pivot Category:Help